The purpose of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of trained volunteer Emergency Medical Coordinators (EMCs) who provide a first-response resource for rural communities of under 2000 in population. The specific objectives include: (1) select rural communities for participation in the study, (2) assist local community groups using project criteria in selecting two volunteers from each community, (3) develop a training program consisting of first aid material and procedures for communication and coordination within the communities, (4) train the selected EMCs using experienced training personnel, (5) implement the EMC program in the communities with project staff assistance, (6) evaluate the community use of the EMC program and the performance of the EMCs using case data collected from an incident form designed for this purpose, (7) evaluate community attitudes and awareness of the EMC program through the use of telephone surveys and mail questionnaires, and (8) assess the overall applicability of the EMC concept for use in similar rural communities. The research setting includes 36 rural communities in Georgia around the periphery of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area who have no physician, ambulance, or other existing emergency medical resources within the community. A total of 68 EMCs were trained in July 1978, and data collection and program assessment is continuing.